Citizenship

Citizenship

123Visa helps you apply for citizenship in Canada identifying and explaining the many elements, steps and criteria involved with establishing new citizenship in Canada. Our team of immigration experts makes sure all the elements necessary for you to apply to immigrate to Canada are covered and presented in the best possible way on your application to the IRCC.

Canada embraces the humanitarian aspects of immigration, providing a better life to thousands of people from countries all over the world, who are in need of protection or seek Convention refugee status. 123Visahas a great deal of experience in helping refugees applying for protection and status.

We also help those who are able to immigrate to Canada based on their ability to invest in Canada or strengthen the labour force with their skills, training and work experience, as well as language, education, and adaptability levels. 123Visa reviews all these factors, as well as family ties to existing Canadian citizens, to see which immigration program you qualify for and will be the best route for you to enter Canada.

Factors that determine if you are eligible to become a Canadian citizen vary to a certain degree for skills, education, training, settlement funds, investment capital, language skills, age, etc. according to your route, whether you are applying on a Federal or Provincial basis.

You can obtain an Express Entry Profile on a Federal Level by meeting certain criteria. This helps speed up the process when applying to a Provincial Nominee Program. If a province finds your profile in the Express Entry Pool, and chooses to assess your score on the above-mentioned factors, and finds you a suitable candidate to settle in that province, you may be invited to apply to one of their PNP Programs. Criteria vary from province to province and from program to program. You can find the requirements for each province listed separately in our Provincial Nominee Program Section under Permanent Resident Categories. We will make sure that you are applying to the right program for you and help you with every aspect.

Language skills are an extremely important factor when it comes to being assessed as a good candidate to immigrate to Canada. If you are in need of development in this area, 123Visa can assist in identifying the many resources to help you improve your language skills to ensure you are meeting Canadian Language Benchmark standards required for the program through which you are applying.

Language skills requirementsvary from province to province and from program to program and employers may specify a level for a position as well. Below is a breakdown of the level of Canadian Language Benchmark standards required for each National Occupational Classification:

NOC Skill Level A – CLB 7 (English) or NCLC 7 (French) for professional jobs including those which require a university degree such as doctors, dentists, lawyers, architects

NOC Skill Level B – CLB 5 (English) or NCLC 5 (French) for technical jobs and skilled trades including those which usually require a college diploma, special training or apprenticeships such as chefs and cooks, butchers and bakers; carpenters, electricians, plumbers; industrial and construction, maintenance and equipment operation trades; supervisory and technical positions in natural resources and agriculture; processing, manufacturing and utilities supervisors and central control operators

NOC Skill Level C – CLB 4 (English) or NCLC 4 (French) for intermediate jobs include those jobs that require high school and possible training for the position such as food and beverage processing, tourism and hospitality, manufacturing and the long-haul trucking industry

NOC Skill Level D – CLB 4 (English) or NCLC 4 (French) for labour jobs including those jobs where on-the-job training is usually provided for positions such as cleaning staff, groundskeepers, oil field workers, fruit pickers

In order to prove your language skills or meet the requirements, you must:

(if you are between the ages of 14 and 64), prove that you have at least basic knowledge of either language and can speak and listen to enough common words and phrases to get by in your community and/or workplace

know basic grammar and be able to form simple sentences, including using past tense, present tense and future tense

be able to understand questions, instructions, laws, signage for navigating through a city on foot, bicycles, or in vehicles, reading food and medication labels, etc.

submit acceptable proof from an accredited source that your language skills meet the requirements to become a Canadian citizen in the form of a diploma, certificate or transcript from one of the following:

the citizenship officer in charge of your case will also access your language skills during your interviews

take the Citizen and Immigration Canada Language test to prove that you meet the Minimum Language Level Canadian Language Benchmark standards in English or Niveaux de compétence linguistique canadiens (NCLC) in French, to prove speaking, listening, reading and writing skills, required by each province, with skilled workers, entrepreneurs and international students requiring a higher level than semi-skilled workers

submit test results that are less than two years at the time of submitting your application

you may be able to score points by having a minimum language level CLB 5 in speaking, listening, reading and writing skills in a second official language

establishing permanent residence status in Canada is required in order to be awarded Canadian citizenship

you can live in Canada as a permanent resident without obtaining Canadian citizenship, or

you can maintain your permanent resident status and go forward with the citizenship application process, having increased your chances of being considered a good candidate for citizenship by first becoming an established permanent resident

you must spend at least two years or a minimum of 730 days within a five-year period living in Canada when a permanent resident

residing outside of Canada for longer periods may cause you to lose your permanent resident status

you are expected to pay the same taxes as Canadian Citizens on municipal, provincial and federal levels

you are eligible to receive most the same health care and social benefits, as well as protection under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms

you must abide by all the established Canadian laws in place to protect you and all Canadians

prove that you have lived as a permanent resident of Canada for at least 1,460 days during the six years immediately before submitting your application

establish yourself as a permanent resident before you start counting the 6 years and also have actually been in Canada for at least 183 days during each of the four of those 6 years. (children and certain Crown servants and their family member may be excepted)

all personal income tax filings must be up to date in four tax years that are partially or fully within the six years prior to submitting your application

business and farming entrepreneurs along with investors have to provide more details as far as business ownership, ability to run a successful business, etc. as seen in the requirements for these sections in the Provincial Nominee Programs

During the application process to become a Canadian citizen you are required to declare ‘your intent to reside. You can demonstrate plans to settle on a permanent basis, by submitting proof of networking on a professional, social and community levels, property rental/ownership, having family ties, etc.

Canada wishes its new citizens will embrace the many aspects of life in this great country and requires that you complete an exam to determine how familiar you are with life in Canada. The government of Canada has issued a Discover Canada study guide that prepares you for some of the areas that you are required to know about in order to be successful at taking the citizenship test. The test is usually a written test, but you may be asked to attend an interview with a citizenship officer based on a number of factors. This could include taking an oral test with the officer if your ability to read and write in English or French prevents you from writing the exam. The test will cover the following areas:

If you are between the ages of 14 and 64 upon applying for citizenship, you must establish your Citizenship Test Date and take the test to become a Canadian citizen. You are required to bring the following to your written or oral test: